Pry type tool for removing can lids



March 31, 1953 L. A. AUE ETAL 2,633,041

FRY TYPE TOOL FOR REMOVIL'IG CAN LIDS Fil ed Jan. 31, 1952 g 5 INVENTORS Z7 Zeaferziflfle jirizzrfifwbiz Patented Mar. 31, 1953 PRY TYPE TOOL FOR REMOVING CAN mos Lester A. Aue, Madeira, and Arthur H. Boylan, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignors to The Drackett Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application January 31, 1952, Serial No. 269,304

. Claims.

1 This invention relates to a tool for removing container lids, and more particularly to a prytype lid remover for use with cans with friction fit lids set into the recessed can top.

Metallic cans with recessed can tops and friction-fit lids are widely used in packaging a great variety of articles of manufacture, including 11-- quids, powders, and granular material. This friction-fit lid type of container finds wide use principally because the container is re-usable and inexpensive. The lid is merely pried loose, part or all of the contents removed, and the lid replaced. The new seal thus obtained by replacing the lid is equally as effective as the original seal.

It is a common occurrence while opening cans of this type that the lid is bent and mutilated, and is often rendered unfit for further use. The tool ordinarily used to remove the lid is a small nosed instrument, such as a screw driver, localizing the opening force applied to the lid. The friction fit is usually fairly tight in order to obtain a satisfactory seal. In the process of removing the lid, usually made from relatively thin sheet metal, this localized lifting force tends to bend the lid as the friction is overcome. This mutilation of the lid is particularly noticeable when the friction has been increased by corrosion and encrustation about'the seal. This usually occurs after use when some of the contents have collected on the sealing surface and reacted with air or moisture to corrode the metal, or when the moisture in the air rusts the metal: surface itself. The lid then fits so tightly that it is impossible to remove the lid with ordinary openers without serious distortion of the lid.

The present invention has for its main object the provision of a pry-type opener which is designed to remove lids of the character described without mutilating them. The opener is constructed with a comparatively wide lid engaging portion, adapted to contact the lid over a substantial portion of the lid circumference, thereby avoiding the localization of force and the resultant mutilation of the lid.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a tool for prying off a recessed can lid removably and frictionally retained within the lidrecess so as'a form apart of the package offered for sale.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a tool for removing can lids which is inexpensive to manufacture, simple in construction, easy to manipulate, and. which is sturdy and durable.

Additional objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a perspective view of the opener removably positionedwithin the can lid recess;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the opener positioned against the can lid in preparation for removal of the lid;

Figure 3 is a partial sectional view on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a partial sectional view on line 4-4 of Figure 2; i

Figure 5 is a side elevation of the tool as it rests in the lid in Figure 1; V

Figure 6 is a side elevation of the tool as it is positioned for use in Figure 2, and

Figure '7 is a top plan view of the tool.

The preferred embodiment of our invention is illustrated in Figure 1 in position within a can top as the unit is packaged for sale. The can; opening tool it) comprises a generally crescent shaped member formed from a comparatively thin sheet of metal or plastic.

As shown in Figures 1 to 4 inclusive, the can for which this opener ii] is constructed may be formed with a cylindrical body l l and a depressed top 12 beaded and soldered tothe body at lit to form an upstanding edge 14. In an opening within the top is fitted a removable cup shaped lid having a flat base I! and having a side wall l3. The side wall I8 may be of uniform diameter, or may be flared outwardly and upwardly to provide a slight wedging taper, and is bent upon itself to form a horizontally extending beaded flange or lip 20. The can top if is slightly inclined upwardly at 22 and its inner circumferential-eclge extends downwardly to form friction flange 23 of the opening. With the lid l6 positioned on the can a tight seal is formed between side I8 of the lid and flange 23 of the top.

To open such a can, the tip of a thin nosed tool must be inserted between lip 20: of lid i6 and the inclined portion 22 of the top of the can, with the tool body engaging edge,v M of the can. A prying force is then exerted to lift the lid from its seat. The tool of our invention is illustrated in this lid opening position in Figures 2 and 4. The opener I0 is formed from a piece of metal, with an arcuate indentation 25 and slightly bent to form a curve in the general di-- rection of the arcuate edge 25. As illustrated in Figures 2 and 4, this arcuate edge of the opener engages beneath lip 20 of the lid, contacting the lip over the entire length of the edge. With ref erence to Figures 2 and 4, it is seen that the degree of curvature of the opener I0 and the radius of are 25 necessary to achieve the desired line contact will depend upon the size of the lid, i. e., the circumference of lip 20, and on the angle 26 formed by the opener with the horizontal when resting on the container edge Hi and engaging beneath lid 20. Each opener is therefore constructed for and specially useful with one particular model of can since it depends for its usefulness on the dimension of the can with Whic it is to be used.

The tool is conveniently formed with a circular periphery 21, with the exception of the indentation 25, in order that it may be retained within the recess of the lid. Preferably the tool periphery 21 is of slightly larger diameter than the inner face of lid wall IS. The inherent resiliency of the tool and the force fit with which it is positioned in the recess aid to retain it therein. The user may readily remove the-tool from the lid by placing his fingers in the space formed between the tool and the bottom of the lid and lifting upwardly.

The tool may be manufactured from dished disks, shaped like watch crystals, by cutting out a section to form the arcuate indentation 25. The tool may also be stamped from a relatively heavy spring metal strip, coiled as a watch spring to give the proper curvature, or from an elongated strip which has been bent transversely of its length, or curvature may be imparted by deformation after cutting. In any event, the stamping is so effected as to insure that edge 25 extends generally in the direction of the curvature of the tool. Other methods of making this tool are obvious and the overall body curvature may vary considerably, suitable alteration of the curvature of the edge 25 being effected to insure line contact of the tool with the lid. The curvature of the'tool body, of course, serves also to strengthen the tool.

In Figure 5 the tool is illustrated as curved in one plane only, and is shown in horizontal positlon as though it were seated in the lid recess. The tool is shown in Figure 6 positioned as though it were under the lid lip ready for use and viewed from the side; it will be'noted that the edge 25 lies substantially in a horizontal plane when the tool is in prying position. The generally crescent shape of the tool is shown in Figure '7.

In order to remove the lid, the tool is positioned as in Figures 2 and 4.- with the edge 25 bearing against lip and the tool body bearing downwardly on edge I4 of the can. A downward force is exerted atthe outer extremity 29 of the tool by the fingers or palm of the user and by simple leverage the lid is lifted.

The. use of spring metal is advantageous in the manufacture of this opener because it can adapt itself to varying operating conditions. Thus as the prying force is exerted and the lid begins to lift, the opener may bend slightly, tending to flatten out to conform to the changing angle between the lid and the opener, and continues, as the lid rises, to exert force along the entire length of the edge rather than at the ends 30 only of that edge.

While the form of tool illustrated herein is preferred, the invention is not necessarily limited to the illustrated embodiment, and further variations and modifications, such as would occur to one skilled in the art, are considered as part of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A tool for removing, from friction lid cans formed with recessed can tops, lids set in openings in the recessed can tops, and having outwardly extending lips, said tool being formed from relatively thin stock and having a portion of its peripheral edge indented to provide a concave arcuate lid engaging portion, said tool being slightly bent to define a curved surface, so as to engage the underside of the lid lip over a substantial and continuous portion of the length of the latter, whereby the force applied to the lip of the lid by said lid engaging portion is so distributed as to prevent undue concentration of force and appreciable mutilation on any part of the lid.

2. A tool for removing, from friction lid cans formed with recessed can tops, lids set in openings in the recessed can tops and having outwardly extending lips, said tool being bent to define a curved surface and being indented to provide a lid engaging edge portion of concave arcuate shape and substantial length for engaging, over substantially the entire edge portion thereof, the underside of the lid lip, whereby the force applied to the lip of the lid by said lid engaging edge portion is so distributed as to prevent undue concentration of force and appreciable mutilation on any part of the lid.

3. A pry-type can opener adapted to engage the lip of a recessed friction lid along a relatively wide area in order to distribute the lifting force equally on the lid lip, said tool lifting edge having a concave arcuate contour, said tool being curved upwardly and outwardly in opposite directions from a line normal to the arcuate edge at the midpoint of the latter.

4. The tool as described in claim 3 having an over-all crescent shape, its body diameter being slightly larger than the inner diameter of the lid recess wherein said tool is positioned and retained when not in use.

5. A lid removing tool formed from relatively rigid thin sheet, a portion of said tool edge extending inwardly and arcuately, said tool being so bent that said arcuate edge is curved upwardly in each direction from its midpoint, the arcuate portion of said edge engaging the underside of a lid lip over a relatively wide area to distribute the lifting force required to remove the lid, whereby said lid is not bent and mutilated While being removed.

LESTER A. AUE. ARTHUR H. BOYLAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 451,982 Southworth May 12, 1891 2,542,295 Spraker Feb. 20, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 98,524 Switzerland Mar. 16, 1923 276,310 Italy July 19, 1930 

